Improved brick-machine



UNITED STATES PA JAMES sancsrnn, or BUFFALO, Nnw vonk.

IMPROVED BRICK-MACHINE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 59,080, dated October 3, 1866.

To all rwhom it may concern Be it known that I, JAMES SANGSTER, of Buffalo, in the county of Erie, in the State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in and on Machines for Making Brick; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 yis a side elevation, showing the cam for giving the necessary movements to the mold, also part of the machinery for lifting and delivering the brick. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section, showing the positionof the several parts at the moment the brickv is lifted from the mold. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the machine complete. Fig. 4 is a front view of the lifter, showing its form, and an end view of the mechanism for taking the brick from it after being lifted from the mold. Fig. 5 is a view of one of the thin bars or plates for regulating the distance between the two pistons, and Fig. 6 represents the faces of the two pistons.

Like letters in the several figures designate similar parts in each.

In the molding of brick,.tiles, Src., from damp clay or other material, the great desideratum is not only to provide the most perfeet means for expelling the air during the action of pressing or forming the brick into shape, but to provide at the same time the means for pressing it into such a condition that the heat, during the proeessof baking, can reach and be diffused through the central parts of the same, and thereby cause the particles to cont-ract equally throughout, or nearly so, for the purpose of preventing the checking or cracking of t-he brick.

The nature of my invent-ion consists, first, in perforating the upper and lower parts and the sides of the mold B, and perforating any of said parts or sides of the said mold, when the holes made by such perforation are confined to the part or parts where the brick or material is when receiving its pressure; second, in the arrangement of bolts or pins, which move at the proper time, for the purpose of moving back into the mold from said apertures the surplus clay which had been forced into them while the brick was being formed or pressed; third, in a new combination and arrangement of machinery for lifting the biick from the mold and presenting it in position to be carried off, by means of which it is carefully handled and the breaking and rubbing of the corners or sides prevented, fourth, in so combining and arranging the mechanism for moving the pistons for pressing the brick into shape that one piston moves first and presses the clay confined between them into as small avcompass as may be desired, after which its action ceases, or nearly ceases, until the opposite piston moves forward, and by forcing the first piston, together with the brick partly compressed, against a solid support or backing, completes the pressure and finishes the brick ready to be moved fromthe mold and delivered; iifth, in a device for regulating the distance between the two Lpistons while giving the pressure to the brick, or for compensating for the wearing of the machinery, the same consisting of thin plates of metal or other material, which are placed between the back end of one of the pistons and its backing or support, as many of said plates bein g used as may be found necessary to adjust it to the point desired; sixth, in the openings J1 and Jz in the lower parts or in the sides of the pistons,.for the purpose of leaving a means for the escape of the surplus lclay or other material which may be forced through certain apertures in the faces J and K of said pistons during the operation of press-l ing the brick 5 seventh, in the opening J3 in the lower part or sides of the mold, for the escape of the surplus clay or other material which may drop or be forced through opening J 2 in the piston, over which it is moved 5 eighth, in the combination and arrangement of a cam, movable connecting-rod, stationary guides, Aand two friction-rollers, or the equivalent thereof, one of which moves in the cam, while the other, or the equivalent thereof, moves between said guides, causing said connecting-rod to move easily in a straight line back and forth while the cam is giving it the necessary reciprocating mot-ions for moving the mold of a brick-machine; ninth, in the combination of the pistons H and H1, when so arranged that the piston which gives the greatest pressure to the brick presents the greatest number of TENT OFFICE;

holes, or more open space, for the escape of the surplus clay or other material than the piston which gives the least pressure, for the purpose of compensating for the increased pressure of said piston and making the density of the brick as near the same on both sides as possible, to prevent warping in baking.

A is the frame of the machine B, the sliding mold. It is moved by the cam D on the shaft O. C is the connecting-rod. It connects at one end with the mold, and at the other with the cam, as shown. E is a stationary guide, between which part of said connectingrod is moved. F is a small wheel on said connectin g-rod. It moves with it between the guides, and serves to steady it and lessen the friction of said rod while moving between them. S is the opening in the mould to receive the clay. Said mold B surrounds the pistons entirely, and moves along them duri-ng the action of the machine. H and H1 represent the pressing-pistons, the faces of which are shown in Fig. 6, and the openings are marked Jand K. A greater number of holes or more of an opening is left for the escape of surplus material ein one than in the other, the piston which is destined to give the greatest pressure to the brick containing the most, or as much more as is necessary to compensate for the increase of pressure. Said pistons nearly surround and move on the stationary guides Q Q, said guides being fastened flrmly to the cross-pieces N and I by means of bolts, or the equivalent of the same.

The lifter for the brick is represented by letter U. The upper part is formed with one or more spaces or openings, such as shown at B2 B2 in Fig. 4. These openings are left for the purpose of admitting the movement of the projecting parts of the plate G between them and under the brick, so that said lifter can descend and leave the brick standing upon said plate C', as clearly shown by Fig. 4. A

WV is a lever for moving thelifter. It-moves upon a joint on the piece X, which is fastened to the mold B.

V is an arm, which is fastened tothe piston H, and moves with it. The rod A slips through aholein the lower part of said arm, also through au opening in the lower part of the lever W.

As will be readily seen, the movement of the piston H away from the brick, after being pressed, causes the lifter to be raised up and the brick Bl with it, and that the movement of the mold B forward in the same direction will cause it to drop down again and leave the brick on the plate G. Plate C receives its motion from the bar D2, arm D1, friction-roller D4, and a wedge-shaiied cam on the cam-wheel D, which is shown by dotted lines D3 in Fig. 1. It also receives part of its motion by the movement of the mold, as it is connected partially to said mold by pins, which allow it to be moved about the width of a brick, or a little more, by the wedge-cam D3, which moves against the friction-roller D4.

The bar D2 is held to the side of the machine by a bolt, which passes through a slot in said bar at one end. The opposite end passes through a slot, D5, in the side of the machine.

The pins for throwing the surplus clay back into the mold receive their motion from the wheel H2 and projecting piece or cam H4 by means of the arm or lever which is jointed to the front part of the m'old at H3, or the equivalent thereof.

When itis desired to have pins for the apertures in the lower part or sides of the mold, they may be moved in a similar manner, as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 2.

The wheel H2 receives its motion from the reciprocating movement of the mold. T T represent said openings in the mold B.

. By means of my invention I claim that the brick is pressed so as to afford a means for the more equal contraction ofthe clay or other material during the process of baking, and producing a more perfect brick than any process now in use. I do not confine myself to any particular position ot' the brick while being pressed, as it may be pressed from the ends, the sides, or from the top and bottom.

I do not claim, broadly, pert'oratin g the bottom of the mold B, nor the ends of the pistons; but

What I do claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1.The openings T T, be the number more or less, when placed within the portion of the sliding mold B where the brick or material receives its pressure.

2. The opening J3 in thebottom of the mold B, for the purpose of leaving room for the escape of the surplus clay or material, as described.

3. The openings J1 and J2 in the lower part or sides of the pistons, as and for the purposes described.

4. rlhe pins rZ Z, or the equivalent thereof, when, used in the mold B, substantially as described.

5. A piston moving and compressing the clay to the point desired, which is then forced by the opposite piston, with the brick partly compressed, back again to a support, where it remains until the piston which moves it back gives the completing pressure to the brick.

6. The employment of one or more plates, R, substantially as described.

7. The lifter U, when constructed with the openings B2 and B2, or the equivalent thereof, when used in combination withthe plate C', substantially as described.

8. The arrangement of a cam, connectingrod, and the stationary guide E, when used to give the irregular reciprocating motions t0 the mold of a brick-machine.

9. The combination ofthe pistons H and H', as described and set forth.

J AMES SANGSTER.

Witnesses:

OSCAR FoLsoM, G. T. MIAT'r. 

